Why Customer-first Companies Must Be Connected Companies

Customer expectations have evolved, and without connected data and advanced insights and records, you risk falling short of your competition. 

A company that strategically wants to put its customer at the heart of its business needs to think about the customer first, presenting consistent messaging at every touchpoint.

In many businesses, the desire to put the customer first is a value; however, disconnected systems with out-of-date data results in departments holding an inconsistent view of the customer journey. For example, we’ve seen disconnected businesses continue offering marketing discounts to customers who have already purchased that exact product. This is confusing messaging for the customer and negates building trust.

Customer service can also be impacted if the source of data presented to the agent doesn’t match the actual customer record. For example, an existing customer has a product issue, yet the customer service team has to ask for redundant information already taken at the time of sale. The customer service team has to ask these questions to a now frustrated customer because this information is not available at hand, creating a smooth interaction.

How many times have you personally contacted a company providing all the information needed only to be asked for the same information again when passed on to another department? Irritating, right? Connecting systems and providing consistent data would prevent this frustrating scenario from happening.

Delivering Proactive Customer Service

If there is a known issue with a product, the information should exist so that a company can proactively reach out to all customers who purchased that product before the customer has to take steps to contact the company. That leads to great customer service, especially if you can make the resolution painless for the customer.

We all know it should be getting much easier to connect systems using APIs. However, there are still legacy solutions (many on-premise as opposed to SaaS) that are very weak when it comes to being able to connect to them. There are ways around this, but you need to do the analysis first, understand what is available, when and how and then work out how to fix it. Data integration cannot always be synchronous nor real-time, and sometimes an asynchronous integration can be achieved even if not so elegant. Your team will likely need guidance with your data strategy to ensure a holistic approach.

Unify Data Consultancy reviewed ways that CRM deployments can cause damage without the proper structure established—have a look.

At Unify, we have a proven 5 step method for consulting on your data strategy and connected systems that delivers a roadmap for success.

1. Consulting—Whether you are looking to implement a CRM for the first time, have challenges with your existing CRM setup, or experience a business acquisition requiring CRMs to be merged—resourcing consultants with the experience and track record for identifying all needs is a smart move. Unify offers a full system audit and makes recommendations after reviewing all department needs.
2. Migration & data strategy—It is important that all data feeds provide the right information at the right touchpoints, both online and offline, so your customer and product information is where it is needed. Our team reviews data imports and updates timing to ensure appropriate offers, removing untimely communications about previously made purchases.
   
3. Customisation—“Vanilla” CRM options may not work for your business or often need to be customised. Automation is critical to saving your users time for more customer-centric tasks. We build and optimise dashboards, reports and workflows so that you see actionable insights into your organisation.
   
4. Onboarding & user adoption—One of the most critical success factors for a CRM implementation is user adoption. Without Executive buy-in, you are in danger of implementations being sidelined by small tactical solutions that only solve immediate issues and do nothing to support the long-term strategy of the business. Unify Data Consultancy will work with you to build out training and onboarding strategies that work and rally all teams.
   
5. Support—Ongoing support and expertise will safeguard your success. Our team conducts regular audits, makes recommendations for continued progress and keeps a pulse on best practices with data strategy, storage, and analytics, keeping you informed.  

Don’t miss our other article, Benefits of unified data to drive smarter business decisions, where we discuss the holistic customer relationship. The last thing your business needs are data silos, inaccurate customer records, and a poor overall view of the customer journey with misleading customer insights for marketing. With appropriate structure and planning, connecting your systems will empower all your teams with an accurate customer record (in real-time), streamlining processes and offering top-notch customer experiences that are now expected across all industries.

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We are Unify, CRM, Data and Analytics specialists for enterprise-level organisations. We work with companies who have started or about to start their digital transformation and help customers to use their data to drive actionable outcomes and drive business efficiency. Contact us today to find out how we can help your digital transformation programme or to conduct a customised data and operational process audit for your business.